SDCC 2026 Exhibitor Spotlight: Thrilljoy – Interview

Thrilljoy Co-Founder & CCO Dolly Ahluwalia-Kallemeyn and Director of Marketing Karissa Marston talk about the process of creating and marketing figures.

While relatively new on the collectible market, Thrilljoy has already made an impact with its line of collectible figures ranging across a variety of fandoms. In addition to a myriad of convention exclusives at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, Thrilljoy also hosted a sold-out afterparty, Block Party: Rock the Block, during the weekend. The Geekiary stopped by the Thrilljoy booth to talk to Co-Founder & CCO Dolly Ahluwalia-Kallemeyn and Director of Marketing Karissa Marston about all things Thrilljoy.

The Geekiary: What were your favorite things to collect as kids?

Dolly Ahluwalia-Kallemeyn: Oh my gosh, I was and am a huge collector. I collected so many different things. I collected Kenner dolls specifically, I was a big Star Wars fan, so I had a lot of Kenner growing up. I like Disney. I still collect vintage Disney… Creature from the Black Lagoon. My collection’s pretty insane. Magic: The Gathering.

Karissa Marston: I love Magic: The Gathering.

Ahluwalia-Kallemeyn: Yes, I collect quite a bit of things, and it’s been about all of the same things from when I was a kid.

Marston: I collected dolls. All dolls, not just Barbie dolls, but all dolls. I had like fifty shelves of them in my room. And they would stare creepily at everybody when they came in.

TG: What is the process of developing and marketing a Thrilljoy figure?

Ahluwalia-Kallemeyn: For developing, Brian Mariotti, who is our CEO and Founder, he is actually behind every SKU we put out. They are properties that he loves, different things he has an affinity for, and we also look at things that are popping in pop culture and all the different things we think that would really resonate with all different kinds of fans. We like to have something for every single kind of collector. In terms of marketing, that’s a Karissa question.

Marston: We look at things like cons or any kind of drops that we’re doing. We look at what Brian has created, and basically how we can partner with our different license or retail partners to really make a big splash. We love bringing things here that say a lot about the personality of Thrilljoy. We actually have Tony the Tiger here on the floor, which is Brian’s favorite property; it’s his favorite thing. When you’re here on the show floor, you’ll see a lot of different things that you might not see online, but it definitely adds some personality and character. And we like to do that in our marketing as well.

TG: How did the decision to produce limited quantities of each product come about?

Ahluwalia-Kallemeyn: Definitely from Brian. I think that because he is a collector and he has been in this industry for 30+ years, one of the things that happens with collectibles, they become so over-saturated. All different collectibles. And when you keep them more limited, you create that sense of chasing the item, seeking it out, and then the excitement when you find it. That’s one of the ethos of Thrilljoy in general, it’s that thrill of the chase and seeking. Then when you find something that’s hard to find, it feels really special.

Marston: Yeah, at Thrilljoy we say it’s the thrill of collecting and the joy of community. It’s sort of what we’re made of.

TG: What are the challenges of developing figures based on established properties?

Ahluwalia-Kallemeyn: There’s quite a lot, right? I think what people don’t understand is that there’s a lot of moving pieces when it comes to having to look at our calendar and work with our licensing partners. I think a lot of them have a lot of trust in Brian and there’s a lot of years behind there, but we’re still a fairly new company and there’s a lot of growing pains that come with that from an operation standpoint, from a licensing standpoint. All eight of us work very hard, wear a lot of different hats, and we’re just excited to be at San Diego Comic-Con.

TG: What are your dream brand collaborations for the future?

Ahluwalia-Kallemeyn: I feel like we have so many different things coming. Most people don’t realize we’re really only a year old since we launched with PIX!, our new line. When you’re only a year old, it feels like there’s so much that’s untapped. We all have different things in mind that I think people are going to be really excited about the new stuff that’s coming.

Marston: For me, personally, I’m a huge Disney fan. So it was really fun when we got the Disney license. Seeing it on shelves here at San Diego Comic-Con, and watching the fan response to those items, and just knowing that we’re going to have so much more in the Disney catalog in the future.

TG: How did the PIX! PANORAMIX concept come about, and are there plans for more of those in the future?

Ahluwalia-Kallemeyn: Brian loves PIX! PANORAMIX. I don’t think that we’re wanting to sunset that item at all. I think that the strategy behind that is going to be creating those special moments within the community, very limited items. The idea that came from PANORAMIX was Brian, coming from Funko, was everyone keeps them in the box. He was like, “The box doesn’t really look that good on the shelf, right?” He wanted to create the figure as the collectible that sat in the box, had the beautiful display, you’re able to hang it on your wall, it had the premium packaging, the hard acrylic case, and have it really be this elevated collector art moment.

That product is very large. Their tariffs became very heavy, and we realized very quickly that we needed to scale in a different direction. I think Brian’s still passionate about that product. He loves that product, and I think you will see it in the future, but I think you will see it in a different way, in which that fans can be involved in very limited numbers and different possible items.

TG: What do you think sets Thrilljoy figures apart from other collectibles on the market?

Ahluwalia-Kallemeyn: I think that the limited edition part of it is a huge thing. I also think that we were the first to really take pop culture moments and do the Chase aspect and the Super-Chase aspect because that unboxing experience is so special for people. There’s something that’s very satisfying about it. There’s so many blind boxes, so many collectible companies, but finding a way to incorporate all of it together and making it feel very seamless. There was nothing like that. I think that as we grow, that ethos and that same ecosystem that we are building is going to be a part of all of our new products. This is just the start of all of the stuff that we have that is coming out, but we always want to be the first to do something. We’re not trying to copy what everybody else is doing. We’re trying to be the innovators.

TG: Besides Disney, what other future lines can you tease?

Ahluwalia-Kallemeyn: I think that at our Block Party tomorrow we’re going to announce some fun things, but I definitely think fans can look forward to seeing a little bit more anime coming from us. I know we love that. Fans want that. So, we’re excited to expand that portfolio. And like I said, looking at more Disney products. That might be all I can say right now. We’re going to have to be very careful. We have a lot of stuff in the works, but because of all the different reasons we can’t divulge it all now. But there’s so much more that is coming.

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You can find out more about Thrilljoy and their products at their website.

You can keep up with The Geekiary’s San Diego Comic-Con 2026 coverage here.

Author: Jessica Wolff

Jessica Wolff is a graduate of Drexel University with a BS in Film/Video. She has a passion for entertainment and representation in entertainment. She currently resides outside of Washington, DC.

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